Razie, you may very well be correct. I am not inclined to describe it in “human” terms. I’ve never seen someone absorb against nothing like that before. I once heard: “Good skiers thrive on classification. Great skiers defy classification.” This guy is a cat. Reminiscent of a wide receiver’s uncanny ability to get two feet in bounds when their inertia is going in the opposite direction. From what I understand, the approach to this jump, the Hundschopf, is that what we do not see in normal coverage is bone chilling. It is one of the more difficult jumps in the entire circuit. POV (much slower skier) of this jump is at 1:22 of
to get a first hand view. It is a tight squeeze into an explosively altered reality also referred to as the “elevator shaft”.
From Lauberhorn.com:
The Hundschopf
“The actual symbol for the Lauberhorn Race. The tight, rocky passage appears like an impassable spot which cannot be negotiated: too narrow, too steep and the landing area too short and hard. On the Hundschopf there’s fine line between courage and respect, risk and tactics, jumping technique and choice of route. Within the shortest of spaces the most demanding elements for the skier come together. The corners above are more than usually tight and between the rocks on the left and the safety net on the right there are 5 meters at the most. The edge of the jump can only be estimated and the route is determined by the end of the net and the power of the skier’s imagination. Followed by the bottomless!”
I have studied this “cat” thing in athletes and have discovered a frequently related condition referred to as Gravitational Defiance Disorder. Skiers with gravitational defiance disorder (GDD) display extreme resistance to the authority of physics, experience frequent violent conflict with the theory of relativity and have outbursts of temper and spitefulness towards any normal states of space and time continuum.
Signs that you may have GDD:
- The only time you fall is for the cute instructor in your clinic.
- The only tracks you leave are the very short ones that show the direction and exposure of your drop.
- Your skis always land at their own convenience and, in that respect, are never in a hurry.
- You tuck and keep your feet from touching the floor as long as you can whenever sitting on the toilet.
- You fight for headroom out the passenger window with your siberian husky. And you win … every time.
History’s Top Cats with GDD:
“Centrifugally disobedient”
“Pathological refusal of inversion”
“Oppositional defiance”
“La la-la la-la ,,, just squeezing in my application for Dancing With the Stars while I do my other stuff.”
“Defiant and … famished. The most dangerous competitive combination.